Black Grave
{{short description|Largest burial mound in Chernihiv, Ukraine}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Black Grave
| native_name = Чорна могила
| native_name_lang = Ukrainian
| alternate_name =
| image = File:CHORNA MOHYLA.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Engraved by Charles Laplante after Achille-Louis-Joseph Sirouy, 1880
| coordinates = {{coord|51|30|N|31|20|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = 4 Kniazia Chornoho Street, Chernihiv, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine{{cite web
| title =Black Grave Mound
| language =Ukrainian
| url =http://www.oko.kiev.ua/Monument.jsp?monumentId=196
| website =About Kiev
| date =2006
| access-date =April 1, 2014
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055615/http://www.oko.kiev.ua/Monument.jsp?monumentId=196
| archive-date =September 24, 2015 }} Data on the monument.
| region =
| type = Burial
| part_of =
| length =
| width =
| area = {{convert|2300|m2|sqft}}{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
| volume = {{convert|7666|m3|cuyd}}{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
| diameter =
| circumference = {{convert|170|m|ft}}
| height = over {{convert|10|m|ft}}
| builder =
| material =
| built = 10th century
| abandoned =
| epochs = {{Flatlist|
- Kievan Rus
- Late Medieval Ages
}}
| cultures =
| dependency_of =
| occupants =
| event =
| excavations = 1873
| archaeologists =
| condition =
| ownership =
| management = Chernihiv Ancient
| public_access =
| designation1 =
| other_designation = Monument of Archeology
| website =
| notes = Burial of prince Chorny
|embedded={{Infobox historic site |embed = yes |designation1 = UKRAINE NATIONAL |designation1_offname = {{Lang|uk|Курган "Чорна Могила"}} (Black Grave kurgan) |designation1_type = Archaeology |designation1_number = 250004-Н}}}}
The Black Grave ({{langx|uk|Чорна могила |translit=Chorna mohyla}}) is the largest burial mound (kurgan) in Chernihiv, Ukraine. It is part of the National Sanctuary of Ancient Chernihiv and is an Archaeological Monument of national importance.
Overview
Comparable to the barrows of Gnyozdovo near Smolensk, the Black Grave has a height of over 10 metres and a circumference of 170 metres. During excavations undertaken in 1872–73, Dmitry Samokvasov uncovered two cremated bodies of Norse {{citation needed|date=April 2017}} warriors (probably father and son), surrounded by slaves, sacrificial animals, arms, armour, and decorations. Samokvasov dated the burial to the late 10th century, when Vladimir I was the ruler of Kievan Rus. It is likely that the buried warriors were two princes (knyazes) of Chernihiv, although no local potentate is attested in the Slavonic chronicles before Vladimir's son, Mstislav of Chernihiv.
After the bodies were cremated, they were put upon a 7-metre-high mound, where a funeral feast took place. Arranged near the bodies were two helmets and knee-length chain mail (hauberks), probably extracted from the pyre, as well as a cauldron with ram bones, two sacerdotal knives, two golden Byzantine coins, an imported sabre, a miniature dark-red bronze idol of Thor, and two silver-bound aurochs horns decorated with floral motifs, fabulous animals, and figures of a man and a woman shooting at a bird. When the barrow was completed, a stele was placed at the top. All these items are now displayed at the State Historical Museum in Moscow.
At the present time the site of the burial mound along with other 34 buildings (mostly churches) are included in the Chernihiv National Architecture-Historical Reserve "Ancient Chernihiv". The Black Grave along with the rest of the reserve is the major tourist attraction in the Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine.
File:Чернігів Курган Чорна Могила Панорамний вид Квітень 2016.jpg|
File:NSH Chernigiv Kurgan Chorna Mogyla 001.JPG|
File:Sword handles Black Grave GIM Zlatnik.jpg|
File:Kutepov's hunting V.1 - page 049 detail.jpg
References
Bibliography
- Dmitry Samokvasov. Могилы русской земли. Moscow, 1908.
- Boris Rybakov. Древности Чернигова. // Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР, №11, Moscow-Leningrad, 1949.
- T.A. Pushkina. Бронзовый идол из Черной могилы. // Вестник Московского университета. Серия 8. История, №3, 1984.
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055615/http://www.oko.kiev.ua/Monument.jsp?monumentId=196 Archeological site – Black grave (Ukr.)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070517173132/http://www.vsesmi.ru/news/252604/ Tourist information: Black Grave (Ukr.)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071130084349/http://ostrovskogo.ok.net.ua/kray6.htm Chernihiv State Historical and Architectural Reserve – Ancient Chernihiv (Ukr.)]
- [http://www.oko.kiev.ua/SearchReestrsResult.jsp List of monuments of cultural heritage in Chernihiv Region (Chernihiv District)]
{{Gardariki}}
Category:Tourist attractions in Chernihiv
Category:Buildings and structures in Chernihiv
Category:Viking buildings and structures
Category:Archaeological sites in Ukraine
Category:Germanic archaeological sites
Category:Historic sites in Ukraine
Category:Landmarks in Chernihiv Oblast